Turbulent Waters
by Alleh
Summary: Updated Version. The worlds are crumbling. There are few who can take up the Keyblade to save them. One such person is an enigmatic boy named Riku who dreams of other worlds. But what happens when he loses his destiny and travels down the wrong path?
1. Calm Before the Storm

I, Alleh, do not claim to own Kingdom Hearts. I wrote this fan fiction to get it out of my head. Enjoy!

A blast from the past! I orginally started this fan-fic well over two years ago. It really sucked. :D About a month ago, I decided that I should start writing fan-fics again. That brought about the decision to look at my old fan-fic and decide if I either wanted to trash it or revamp the old thing. While I probably will never get around to fully completing the story, (and if I do, it'll be a miracle) I now present the story in an updated version much better than the sorry story of two years ago.

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_The darkness was alarming. Peering around, he saw a thick dark fog surrounding him. The darkness of the fog called to him, seemed to wave its tendrils to invite him to join whatever lied in the depths of its deception. But he knew better. Quickly, he spun around and bolted in the other direction. His reaction was not quick enough, was never fast enough. Tendrils of the utter black caught his leg; squeezed them until he cried out in pain. The darkness absorbed his agony and there was no sound as he howled. Tears streamed down his face in deep rivulets. Ebony veins continued to travel up and around his body, sucking the life out of him as slowly as possible. Soon they stopped upon their objective and he watched in horror as the darkness lingered on the spot where his heart laid._

"_Stop, my heart is my own! No! No!_"_ He tried to say, but his throat had closed long ago. As the veins leapt into his skin, the young man went limp with a last unheard scream as he let the darkness take him to sweet slumber._

_Before he slipped from consciousness, the voice spoke to him as it always did. Smooth as silk and cunning enough to make all his mental defenses fall. He felt the voice probe his mind and reveal his deepest secrets._

"_You are not destined for what you seek."_

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"Ah!" A gasp escaped Riku's tense body which was heavily beaded with sweat. Pulling the straight locks of silver hair away from his flushed face, he glanced around the gully and let out a sigh of relief. Sora and Kairi were no where to be seen. This time he had been lucky they hadn't found him. But how much longer could his luck hold out? Riku closed his eyes to reflect as the gentle sea breeze and the slapping sound of the waves washed over him.

"Damn," he whispered in desperation. "Not again! When will they stop?" The dreams had been reoccurring as long as Riku could remember. It was always the same: the attack of the strange darkness, the message from the strange voice. _You are not destined for what you seek._ What could that mean? And the voice was…so vaguely familiar…

"_I'm being stupid,_" he told himself. "_Dreams aren't messages, prophecies. It's a load of shit. Nobody knows, so what does it matter? I'll just ignore it, like always._"

But he never could, not for long.

"_It matters much more than you could fathom," _An unknown voice called out to Riku. Twirling around to face his addressor, Riku stared straight into the shadows of a man only inches behind him. His rough form was clothed in a full-length tan cloak. Over his head the stranger wore a hood obscuring any facial features, if there were to be had. The man seemed to slip and blur at the edges as if he were crossing different periods of time, and Riku couldn't be sure if he was truly there. The more Riku focused on him, the more lost he became in that strange darkness of his mind, just like in the dream The voice of the man seemed similar to that of the voice in his dream…was there a connection? Riku shook his head to clear his mind of any stray thoughts after realizing he strayed too long in a response.

"Who are you?" shouted Riku. He wasn't going to take taunting from a man he didn't even know. The thought came to him that maybe the visitor had seen his trauma during his dream and a tinge of red spread across his face.

"_You are very kind,"_ the stranger jested and laughed a crooked, malicious laugh. _"My name matters none, and you will soon enough know why. I've only been amused by your antics during your dream. Do you know what it is that you seek?" _Even though he couldn't see the features, Riku knew the man was sneering through his veil.

"Shut up!" Riku lashed out at the man with a fist, but quick as lightning, the man jumped to his left and seemed to disappear on the wind within the next second. Riku gasped and glanced around to see where the man was. Laughter reached his ears.

"_Your day will come, boy. And when it does, how useful you will prove to be..."_

Riku stood mesmorized momentarily. He scoffed a curse at the enigma and pushed the new ideas arising in his mind to the side. He glanced up at his raft which was now almost complete.

They had started the raft the week after Kairi had moved to Destiny Islands, planning to sail off into unchartered worlds, new adventures, and a new life. It seemed that new plans always came when Kairi did. Now, two years later, the raft was nearly ready. The waves gently rocked it back and forth on its stronghold in the sand. The planks were secure. The mast was up, but not the sail. They would put that up today.

'To new worlds." The young boy grinned a childish smile. Looking the raft over one time, he imagined Kairi graciously thanking him for all his help as two sailed off, leaving Sora behind. Later, Riku would pull out a paopu fruit and…..

He swore. Provisions! Where was Kairi when you needed her? Riku figured she was probably at the beach, talking with Selphie or Tidus. He began to amble along the shoreline towards the front beach of the island, picking up shells to give to Kairi on the way. He laughed innocently to himself. She was in the palm of his hand; finally his and not Sora's. He saw the two of them before they saw him. Sora must have been sleeping; he was lazing down in the sand and Kairi was standing over him quizzically. Riku watched as Sora woke with a start, his brown and spiky hair bouncing to a rhythm of its own. Kairi strode out towards the water while Sora gazed after her like some sort of lovesick puppie. They started to laugh. Clenching his fists as well as his heart, Riku absent-mindedly picked up a log next to him and strode off toward the pair.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Kairi giggled and turned around to look at Sora. Her bright blue eyes held a secret that neither of the boys could ever comprehend. It just made Kairi all the more irresistible. Kairi quickly felt Riku's presence and looked up slowly with her face expressionless. She swiped a stray strand of auburn hair out of her eyes to confirm what she saw. Sora, as always, was clueless.

"Hey! I guess I'm the only one working on the raft!" Riku yelled to them from behind. Sora jumped up in shock, just in time for Riku to stride forward and throw him the log.

"Woah!" He scoffed and barely grabbed a hold of the log. His blue eyes sent a momentary glare in Riku's direction. _What's his problem?_

"And you're just as lazy as he is." Riku pointed a finger at Sora, whose glare had turned into a childish frown. He sat down beside Sora and relaxed.

Kairi giggled. "So you noticed!" She spread her arms wide and jumped in the air. "Alright, we'll finish it together! I'll race you!"

"What? Are you kidding? No way!" The boys exclaimed and neither moved a muscle. But when Kairi shouted, "Ready? GO!", each boy jumped up and started the race. This was one of their daily rituals.

With a slight lead, feet slipping comfortably in the sand, Riku glanced behind him. Kairi was slowly keeping up to the boys, grinning and laughing. Her smile was infectious and he couldn't help but return it. "Where are we racing to?" He called out, although he already knew the answer.

"The paopu tree, of course!"

The time was right for one of Riku's usual confusions. He was directly under the bridge leading to the paopu island and he jumped, reaching for the planks of the bridge. Grabbing a hold, he pulled himself up and looked down. Kairi was holding back a surge of giggles and he extended a hand to pull her up along side him.

Sora, however, only kept running. He grinned wildly to himself. He was in the lead! The wind whipped through his hair and that was the only sound he heard. Which was strange…why didn't he hear Riku's footsteps? _Just keep running_, he told himself. When he opened the door to the upper level of the bridge, Sora was shocked to see Riku and Kairi looking on in laughter from their comfortable spot on the paopu tree.

"W-wha-what? That's not fair!'" Sora spat furiously. He clenched his fists and advanced towards them.

"Oh, Sora, stop whining. If you can't win, just learn to do it and do it faster! Or stop getting tricked so easily!" Kairi had thrown on her annoyed tone, which made Sora stop. His mood changed from furious to concerned in an instant.

"But-- I'm not--!" Sora stared at Riku who only stared back with a strange look in his eyes. The two turned away from Sora and began a discussion. Sora couldn't help it; he released a smile. They were his best friends, after all. When he reached the paopu tree and took a seat on its bent trunk, Riku was finished having a discussion with Kairi about the raft. As she turned around to face him, he grinned. "What's up?"

"We need you to go gather our provision for the raft."

"But why only me? Doesn't Riku need to help, too?" Sora protested.

Kairi sighed and gazed at him thoroughly. "You were sleeping when you were supposed to be helping. He wasn't." She continued to reprimand Sora and their conversation turned into giggles as Sora made a childish excuse. Riku tuned them out.

_Well, I wasn't truly asleep. _Riku thought. _It's not my fault I fall into that dream, that darkness. It pulls me in…_Heopened up his mind and began to think about that dream again. Did it really mean something? And if so, what? Was it going to change his life? Strangely, a memory of a man in a tan cloak with his face hidden behind a hood flashed in his mind. _What did he say...?_ Try as he might, Riku had forgotten the entire incident. When he came to, the scene had changed. Kairi was standing in front of him with her hands clasped behind her back; her usual stance. Sora was leaving down the bridge behind her.

"I better go check on the raft…Ya know." She smiled sheepishly. She seemed a little awkward, Riku thought, but he didn't ask about it. "We're leaving the day after tomorrow, right?"

"Right." He grinned supportively and waved goodbye as she turned to leave. Maybe she was just worried about their trip. That must be it. Riku turned to his left and examined a paopu fruit hanging from a branch. _I'll share one with Kairi some day,_ he mused. _But…will Sora do it first? _Shocked filled his mind at the thought of his feelings towards his best friend. He realized it was only natural. He loved Sora as a friend, but there was no way he would lose in the battle for Kairi's heart. He had never lost anything to him before. He wasn't going to start now.


	2. Sunsets

As this point, you could be thinking I have no original plot, but in the first two chapters I only wanted to follow the opening scenes of Destiny Islands as a sort of prologue. Don't flame me for wanting to stay true to the story. :P

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When sunset came to the tiny island, the usual happened. The sun spread its wide fingers through the sea, caressing the ocean and sending waves of slumber to the inhabitants of the small world. Parents called their children home, play was abandoned, and the sky slowly faded into a serene darkness. But for the time being, three children talked of the mundane and gazed silently at the heavens that seemed to be opening just for them.

Sora was splayed over the trunk of the paopu tree. Kairi was next to him. As always, Riku was a little distanced from the two as he stood at the base of the tree with his arms crossed. His brow was furrowed in deep thought. Sora, too, was thinking.

"So…Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" He placed the question into the open silence with delicacy, knowing exactly where its answer could lead.

"Could be. We'll never know by staying here." Riku responded, his answer somehow feeling like a punch in the air. Sora tried to take the advantage of the situation and spoke his worries a loud.

"But how far could a raft take us?"

"Who knows? If we have to, we'll think of something else." But Riku didn't sound too sure in his answer. Sora tried to shrug it off; Riku was always standoffish.

"So, suppose you get to another world." Kairi laughed her usual light-hearted laugh in the midst of the two doubtful boys. "What would you do there?"

"Hmm...Well, I haven't really thought about it." Riku struggled for words. He knew what he felt. He had felt it all his life on Destiny Islands, had felt it in his very bones. "It's just that I've always wondered why we're here on _this_ island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?"

Kairi listened with rapt attention. This _is what the whole trip has been leading up to_, she thought. _It's all Riku has ever wanted his whole life. It must plague him day and night. No wonder he's been so quiet lately._

And Riku only continued. "And suppose there _are_ other worlds. Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?"

_Ugh. He's off on one of his rants. Maybe I'll just tune out if it goes on forever._ Sora dismissed Riku's theory. "I don't know," he supposed, turning back to his own thoughts, and flipped onto his back.

"Exactly." Riku mused. "That's why we need to go out there and find out! Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff… So let's go." The last words were whispered only loud enough for Riku to hear. He wasn't one to let his emotions show.

Kairi had sighed more than once at Riku's uncanny thoughts and did so again. To herself, of course. She was trying to be supportive.

"You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" Her eyes pierced through Riku as she tried to figure out what he meant.

"Thanks to you. If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this." He let the statement hang boldly in the air for a moment in the hope that Kairi caught onto the depth of its meaning. "Kairi, thanks." Riku gave up to a smile that played with his eyes.

"Heh...You're welcome." Kairi sputtered back. The conversation moved to the upcoming approach of school. No one wanted to think of losing summer, so they all decided to go home.

Waving, Kairi told the boys to hurry up and ran ahead of them. They both smiled and began to walk after her, too tired to race each other. Sora pulled ahead and Riku took his chance.

"Sora!" Riku quickly threw it and Sora pivoted to face him.

"Wha-?" The fruit dropped easily into his open hands. The naive boy stared questioningly.

"You wanted one, didn't you?" Sora frowned at Riku's remark. He didn't recognize where the situation was headed.

"A paopu fruit.." The fruit itself was a golden star shape with small oval leaves jutting from the top of a point. It had a whimsical air and held sort sort of pull on his emotions. Sora gaped at Riku, then back at the fruit, and then back to Riku again.

_Geez, he'll never get if I don't explain it again._ Riku took a breath, preparing himself for what might become if Kairi overheard. Sora was a little dim, but she wasn't.

"If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined." He advanced towards Sora and passed him up. Again, the boy continued to gawk. "They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what. C'mon, I _know_ you want to try it," he teased, casually dropping a bombshell that could have the potential to split the two friends forever.

"What are you talking— Oh." Now he understood. Sora glared at Riku, watching him laugh. He flushed and hesitantly dropped the fruit over the edge of the bridge into the waves and began to run after Riku, who was now chatting with Kairi as if nothing had ever happened.

Each of the teens returned home carrying a different perspective of the conversation. Each one was skeptical. Each one was worried for the day to come. But the next day did come, and with flourish. The air was hot and muggy, and settled on a body like deadly snake. The sky was a deep blue and the waves moved playfully, inviting everyone for a swim.

Riku stood on the shoreline of the cove around the backside of the island. The wind whipped his silver hair into his face to help mask his troubled appearance. The team was starting off tomorrow and they still needed provisions. Riku had gathered his early in the morning, but would Kairi and Sora be able find enough?

A tap on his shoulder startled him. It was just Sora, smiling one of his cheesy grins. "Mornin'!" He offered and Riku nodded, smiling slightly.

"Hey Sora," Riku contemplated. "Our boat still needs a name. What do you think we should call it?"

"Me? Well...I dunno. Excalibur?" Sora picked randomly, and then laughed at how stupid it sounded.

"Should we- The usual?" The two fit the sentence together as Kairi rounded the boardwalk.

"Are you two at it again? Alright, I'll judge. First one to the star and back again wins. Same old, same old. Blah, blah, blah." Each boy mentally envisioned the route in his head. _Down the boardwalk, down the shoreline, past the palm tree, to the ridge..._

"If I win," Sora mused, 'Uh, I'm captain! And, if you win--"

"I get to share the paopu with Kairi." Riku's voice had suddenly changed to deep, a sign that he was serious and was not to be taken lightly.

"_Huh_?" Sora almost jumped back at the thought. _What's he going at?_

"Deal? The winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi." Riku grinned deviously to himself. The seeds had been planted and he would be the one to reap the benefits.

"Wha-- Wait a minute!" Sora tried to negotiate, but it was too late.

"OK! On my count! 3, 2, 1! GO!" Kairi whistled and the race was on. Sora hadn't been prepared and Riku easily took off, his advantage over Sora was clear.

Even so, the startled boy started. He jumped down to the shoreline and tried to shortcut Riku by running through the water. Soon enough, he was mounting the hill to the palm trees and jumped idly to the star. Where was Riku? He wondered, not even catching sight of him. On his way back Sora didn't spot him either. He rounded the corner back to the ridge above the shore.

"Oh, dammit!" Sora cursed to himself. The vision he saw ahead was of Riku standing next to Kairi and casually talking as if the race had never even taken place. The two heard his approach and turned to laugh at his sullen appearance.

"Too close, Sora!" Riku drawled and Kairi giggled more, running up to Sora and patting him on the back. "One more up for me on the score!"

_"Shut up_." Sora hissed through clenched teeth as he doubled over to regain his breath. He was sick and tired of Riku's cool demeanor; always winning, always joking, and always just managing to win everybody over.

"Man, lighten up, it's just a name." Riku calmly expressed, standing over Sora passively. Kairi took off down to the raft and Sora glared at Riku when she was gone.

"What do you mean it's _just_ a name?" Sora was livid, yelling as his temper got the best of his emotions. "What the hell did you mean back there when you said--!"

"What's that?" Riku feigned ignorance. "Oh, the paopu thing? It was just a joke. You should've seen your face when I said it, though!"

Sora's face was red; too angry to retort. He stood up quickly and reached for the doorway back to the beach.

Noticing that Sora's anger still hadn't passed over, Riku attempted to cool him down. "Look, do you want to try at another race?"

Sora looked down to hide the rage he felt. "No."

Riku grimaced. "Are you upset or something? It was only a joke."

Sora opened the door with a force to be reckoned with and slammed it shut equally as hard.

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The sun spread her fingers across the water once again. But this night was different. A tinge of salt was in the air, the slight warning of a storm brewing in the weighted air. Riku was prepared. His confidence could not be shattered. Not tonight.

He took off down the dock to find Sora and Kairi sitting side by side at its edge. They were looking at the sunset, each taking in the silence radiance. Riku stepped onto the dock, sending a creak to their ears. They turned around. Both smiled gently and he waved innocently as he dropped something into his boat. His silence gave them an answer: he was leaving. Without sound, Riku jumped into the sand golden with beams from the sunset to unleash his boat and start to row home. He was glad that the wind was veiling his eyes from the paopu fruit in the boat's bottom. A reminder of his only failure.


	3. Enter the Darkness

I start getting into my own idea of Riku's story during this chapter and fully into it afterward. If you're reading this, good for you! Feel free to review.

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The darkness suppressed his room like a blanket. A cold river flooded through the open window from the sea, causing a shiver to run down his spine. Shifting the covers, Riku pulled himself up to close the window. His face was slightly devoid of color, giving off the impression of frailty. Setting his eyes against the wind, Riku gazed down upon the shore. The waves crashed wildly about in terror, but he gave no thought to it; he only closed the window. The room started to give off a sensation of oddity. Rubbing his arms, Riku gave thought to the day. Such a depressing day didn't deserve remembrance. He shoved the images and memories far away inside his mind and kicked them to rest. His stomach growled. He hadn't eaten. But something else growled nearby. Riku rapidly looked up.

The sky was steadily growing black, and clouds, spreading like dropped ink onto the sky, were convulsing to one point just above the island. Suddenly, exploding onto the scene came a huge amount of pressure. It blew his hair back from his face, despite the closed window. The pressure source changed before his very eyes as it twisted into some sort of abnormal storm. Lightning flashed from within its depths and it kept pulling clouds to the epicenter, morphing into a mauve black sphere.

He sensed the danger, knew the consequences if he didn't act quickly. Grabbing his wooden blade as if it could truly protect him, Riku set off out of his bedroom and out the door.

Outside the air was weighted. A sort of fog, but not fog, rolled along the ground and made him cough. It was black, yet translucent. Pivoting to the island, he saw the pressure was still there. He had to get over there somehow. As he started to walk, Riku noticed the fog stuck to him. Running didn't work, and neither did walking through the stuff. He would have to wade. It reminded him of the trauma, the space in his dream. Gritting his teeth, Riku pressed north towards the docks of town.

As Riku was just reaching his small raft, a soft touch prodded him on the shoulder. He twirled around to see Kairi's face.

She was smiling. He couldn't understand why. With the outlook of the sky, she should've been in a panic. Her hair was loose in crazy, jumbled knots and her clothes were dirty. There were even a few loose seams visible on the precious purple skirt that she loved. As the clouds moved, an astonishing glitter of moonlight appeared. The beam illuminated Kairi and her eyes glowed somewhat savagely. Her appearance shocked Riku and he took her hand. It was unimaginably cold.

"Kairi! Are you alright?" He asked, searching her eyes for the answer. He couldn't find any emotion at all, only her dumbfounded smile. The sliver of moonlight vanished between the racing clouds as Kairi spoke.

"Of course I am!" She shook her head and laughed. "We're leaving right now, and there's nothing to worry about. Except Sora. I've got no idea where he is or if he's coming." Riku noticed something behind the back of her eye flicker, as if darkness swept her vision from her. Before he could convince her otherwise, she took off for the island and Riku had no choice but to follow her.

As they docked their boats, Kairi waited for Riku. Her hands were clasped behind her back in her usual disposition, however, Riku knew she wasn't her usual self. But he had no proof. Instead, he glared at her.

"Can't you see the storm? Why don't you go check on the raft?" He was put out, not just at her giddiness in the face of danger, but because of earlier that day. His heart was still broken. When she did nothing, he pointed in the direction of the cove and she nodded, losing her dumbfounded smile and taking off.

After he finished knotting the rope, Riku turned. The beach was empty. No footprints and no Kairi. Where has she gone? Calling her name gave him no answers, and Riku gave up hoping she was already at the raft. When he had reached the bridge to the paopu tree, a voice called out to him.

'_You have come to see the door, have you not? Just as I have. Your heart yearns for answers._'

Riku coughed and gasped for air. It was the voice: the voice from his dreams, the voice that plagued him day and night. Looking up to the sky, Riku saw the figure. He was standing, back toward him, facing the ocean. How could his voice reach that far? _It sounded like he was whispering right into my ear_, Riku thought, but shook it off and climbed towards the man with steely determination.

The apparition was wearing a black coat; akin to the man Riku had seen the other day. Zippers flowed over the surface, and the stature turned in the direction of Riku. Flinching, Riku stepped away. The man's face could not be seen through the immense hood he wore in combination with the darkness caused by the growing fog surrounding the two.

"What are you talking about?" choked Riku. The fog had started to cover his mouth and enter his lungs.

"_This world has been connected, tied to the darkness. Soon it will be completely eclipsed. You do not yet know what lies beyond the door, though you know of what I speak. You have known and it has plagued you. Now you can choose the answer to your question._" The voice was deep and resonating, full to the brim of malice and pent rage ready to explode, though kept under a cool demeanor.

Riku felt the same as the voice. "What question do you mean? I have no questions!" The fog swept around him more and more frequently now, and Riku had to bat it away with his arms as he coughed and sputtered.

"_You try to ignore it: the growing doubt you have in your mind. You want to seek other worlds, but your frail raft will get you nowhere. You know this. And yet you continue to feed on your friends' simple hopes to fill yours. Would you like to see the true destination to you search for?_"

Riku was automatically hypnotized. How could this man, this stranger, know his inner secrets, his doubts that he had never spoken aloud? He knew what he must do. He knew his answer.

"I would. _Anything_ to get away from here. How can I pursue my dream?" Riku eyes were shining with admiration, trust, and an evil reaction. Something flickered behind his eyelids. The man in the trench coat smiled. Riku felt the presence of the smile and sneered deviously in response.

"_You must trust yourself to the darkness. They will come for you. You must leave everything behind and trust in the darkness. Do not be afraid. There is no fear, no loneliness, and no discontentment within your own heart if you join us. The girl has already been chosen_."

Riku nodded, closing his eyes and scanning the darkness of his mind's eye. A voice called to him that he didn't recognize. He opened his eyes to the new world and turned around. Footsteps pounded on the bridge and emanated in the sand beneath Riku's feet.

"Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you!" Sora yelled to Riku's backside.

"The door has opened." The muffled voice of Riku quavered over the air and fog started to swirl around the two in a savage dance.

"What?" Sora inquired, bewildered by the fog's appearance and Riku's enigmatic statement.

Riku's eyes dilated. He turned, fuming at Sora's insolence. "The door has opened, Sora! Now we can go to the outside world!" A happy sneer contorted his face.

_What_ are you talking about?" Sora was returning Riku's force. "We've gotta find Kairi!"

"Kairi's coming with us!"

Sora was taken aback. How did he know? Sora stared down Riku with clenched fists..

"Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our last chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!" Riku sighed inwardly and quickly gazed at the heavens. The storm sphere was still there, still growing larger by the moment. Returning to the present, Riku held out a hand to Sora.

What was he supposed to choose? One friend or the other? Security or the unknown? Adventure or the mundane? Sora had no idea. He looked at Riku passively. Was Riku even aware of his own decision?

"Riku." Sheepishly, Sora looked at the boy. A pool of darkness had appeared out of nowhere. Unaware, Riku continued to hold out a palm as vines of darkness crept up his legs and torso. His body turned pallid and Sora ran forward, grasping for his hand, trying to save him from his own madness. The vines tugged around Riku's arms as Sora leaned forward, stepping into the darkness. Mustering a shout, he grazed Riku's palm. Riku was staring straight ahead. He had no idea of the danger he was in!

The darkness continued to wrap itself around Riku, but veered away from Sora. The veins seemed afraid to touch him, but held him fast in place all the same. One last time, Sora threw himself into Riku and blacked out.

Silence surrounded the two. Riku vaguely saw Sora's shadowy figure before a blinding light above made him flinch and cover his eyes. A shape was starting to fall towards Riku and he tried to attain it. It was a key, but a key to what? To the door? He wondered and reached a hand out to graze the surface of the handle.

It was not a key, but only a sword in the shape of one. The handle was a metal frame of yellow; the blade was in the inset of a key. A crown figured inset upon its tip. What was it for? Riku continued to think, not bothering to become aware of his reoccurring goosebumps.

The moment came when the blade was close enough for Riku to fully grasp in his hand. The sensation felt a true extension of his arm and Riku easily accepted his new treasure.

But the darkness did **not**.

The vines shot out of Riku's skin, crawling across to the key and squeezing it from Riku's grip. He screamed in agony and dropped the blade, losing it forever to the darkness below. The vines continued to leap from slumber within his body and crawled across the skin's surface, reaching his heart before Riku could fight them off. They jumped for opportunity and his consciousness left him.


	4. The Furtive Castle

_The room was littered with different machination: pipes, keyboards, wires, lights. All lead to the center of the room; the importance of the very building, the very world. The young man could feel the strength of the protective barrier as he placed a hand to its surface. A large black door with red spidery veins flowing over its surface loomed over him. A broken heart. The heart of the world Footsteps called out to him from the entrance of the hall. He turned, dark cloak curtains swishing at his ankles. The Keyblade master had come. _

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His eyes flashed open to a maroon sky. Steam billowed out of towers and streaked the sky like white tears. Riku rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

_Where am I?_

And then the memories came rushing back, flooding his mind. Closing his eyes to seek refuge with what he knew was familiar, Riku took a few minutes to calm himself down, although this brief rest offered him no less of a shock to his surroundings.

He was sitting upon a platform in the middle of a lake surrounded by massive waterfalls. These waterfalls, however, flowed_ up_. Ahead in the distance was a huge complex: a castle. Tires and towers twisted out at odd angles from the building which was easily several stories high. Elevator platforms ran on invisible wires and flew around at timed intervals, working to the inner clockwork of the building. A huge heart emblem was splayed across the center of the building. It was cracked purposefully, and it gave Riku ominous shivers.

_Better get a move on._ Riku jumped up with gracefully ease to the nearest platform. In its center was a fountain. He had no idea what he was doing. Did he want to go to the castle? How could he even get there? Riku debated as he splashed his face with the fountain's cool, refreshing water. Sauntering over to the edge of the platform, he saw that it careened down to the unknown depths of the pounding waterfalls. He glanced forward and all he could see were pink clouds extending all around the falls. But ahead was the castle. Was there any plausible way to reach it? Would someone inside be able to return him home? His thoughts were answered in a whoosh of sound as an elevator swooped down for the castle. Riku looked on with hesitation at the mysterious device, but had no choice other than to step on and let the elevator take him to his fate.

-------------------------------------------------------

The castle was full of never-ending rooms. Riku had been walking for hours, meeting no one, hearing nothing but the steady rhythm of his own breaths and footsteps on cold stone floors. He had passed through numerous halls; all empty, but full of exquisite art and statues. Eventually, Riku reached the wide expanses of a hallway. Straight ahead was a cascading wall fountain and as Riku gazed upwards, he saw the ceiling reached another level of balconies. There were three doors in the upper level of the first floor, and he hesitantly entered into the farthest left. An extended library filled with books met his eyes. An inspection of a few showed that many were written in different languages and contained things beyond Riku's knowledge. The sensation Riku had after opening several books was not pleasant. Had he just gained the power to control elements? Riku decided to try out his theory. Randomly, he picked up a book from within a deep shelf. The cover illustrated a strange creature seemingly made of nothing but darkness with yellow eyes and searching antennas under a mysterious symbol and a Roman numeral two.

Closing his eyes, Riku imagined the book bursting into green flames. He heard no sound. But when he opened his eyes, the book was slowly shriveling into an emerald ball of flame. The flame dissipated in a matter of seconds. Shocked and disturbed, Riku quickly left the library. Perhaps it was for his benefit that he had not met anyone within the castle. He had no idea what could become if they so chose to attack and he defended himself with his newfound powers.

What interested Riku the most about the castle was when he passed through the rooms in which the elevators ran. The rooms always were open to a wide ceiling that continued up and up, possibly throughout the whole castle. Invisible fences littered the premises and Riku often got shocked. He couldn't continue and would have to turn back in search of another way.

For the tenth time after meeting such a block, Riku had entered the elevator room again, but this time he succeeded in finding the correct path. In front of him stood a giant door that eased open smoothly and silently. His eyes met darkness in the next room. Deeper in the room stood five shadows, each different shapes and quite possibly species, around a dais in green brazier light. About to take a step forward, what Riku heard next thoroughly convinced to stay where he was.

"That little squirt took down that Heartless! Who'd have thought it?" An angry tone met his ears. The man sounded annoyed, and Riku slipped further back in the shadows whence he came. And what were the Heartless he had mentioned?

"Such is the power of the Keyblade. The child's strength is not his own." This new voice sounded slithery like a snake. Keyblade? Sweat began to bead on Riku's forehead. What that the blade he had seen before the darkness took over him as he left the island? Questions came from every direction and Riku found it hard not to express his location just to get some answers.

"Why don't we turn him into a Heartless? That'll settle things quick enough!" A woman's voice. Riku could easily tell she was a conniving witch by her malicious laugh.

"And the brat's friends are the king's lackeys. Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the look of them!" Another new voice declared. Who was this king? No king had ever existed in the world Riku knew. _But I'm certainly not in my world anymore…_ he pondered.

"You're no prize yourself." A wicked chuckle emanated from a fifth person.

"Shut up!" Riku saw a flash of silver bounce off the walls and into the shadows of the strange light. A weapon? Would a fight break out? That could provide him with enough cover to slip away. But he was wrong. The situation could only prove direr. A sixth shadow crept out from behind the others with commanding an air of prowess. In the flickering light Riku saw the features to be that of a woman clothed in a black cape and carrying a cane. A hood adorned her head, horns sprouting from the base. Riku's blood chilled to the bone with an unknown recognition.

"Enough! The Keyblade has chosen him. Will it be he who conquers the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow him? Either way, he could be quite useful."

The meeting adjourned with this statement. Thankfully, the visitors left through another side door and did not spare a glance to Riku's hiding spot. But the commanding woman, the last speaker, stayed and watched an image appear on the dais. Riku's position was wrong to view what it displayed, but he could tell it was a trio of three people. One of them was carrying the mythical blade Riku had been denied. The Keyblade.

"I am graced with the presence of the _true _Keyblade master, am I not? Do not be afraid, for I hold all the answers you seek. Come forth."

The woman turned her head and gazed straight into the shadows to Riku's eyes. He knew those eyes had just grazed his heart, his soul. Challenging the woman with the same level-headed stare, he had no choice but to stride forward into her clutches.

"You must forgive me, for I am very tired from the strain of imbeciles and so must you be from your journey. Let's schedule our tête-à-tête for another time, shall we?" The witch turned her back to Riku and appeared to be gazing onto the dais once again.

"I refuse. I want some answers _now_." He shouted into the darkness. His words reverberated around the high ceilings, but the woman ignored him. Instead, her glance shifted to the door that her accomplices had exited through and nodded.

"You may take him now. Seek into his memories and altar his mind to fight for our cause, but do not take his heart. He will be more useful with it."

"I won't be taken anywhere!" A shuffling a many feet soon enveloped the sound of Riku's voice as thousands of shadows crawled along the floor straight to him. He turned to escape but before he could even call upon his magic, the creatures tackled him. A pair of yellow eyes flashed humorously in front of Riku and he seemed to hear a twisted sort of cackle before his mind went blank.


End file.
